Little Things in Life
by Tanba Josav
Summary: Agent Aaron Cross never had time for the little things in life, so imagine his surprise when he discovered Doctor Marta Shearing had all the time in the world. That day on the boat was was when he realised that the little things were what most people lived for. Work in progress, rated T to be on the safe side.
1. Dancing

Little Things in Life

Disclaimer: The Bourne Legacy is a part of the Bourne franchise created by Robert Ludlum and I do not own even the slightest part of that. This is only a labour of love adding to the ever expanding Bourne universe.

* * *

Agent Aaron Cross never had time for the little things in life. It was hard to slow down and take a moment when you had Outcome constantly riding your ass. Either he was running a mission in some shitty part of the world cleaning up someone else's mess or he was on some bullshit make work treasure hunt like Alaska. Now that he finally had the time to think about it that was probably the point. Keep your assets running around like the lab rats they were, rather then let then stop and think about the situation they found themselves in. Soup up their brains, and then don't let them stop for a second to question the status quo.

He was pretty sure poor old Kenneth Kitsom hadn't appreciated the little things either. Sure he had the time but he never had the means. What was the point of a glorious sunset or the laugh of a pretty girl when you didn't have the brains to enjoy them? Didn't have the support structure to understand the little things, didn't have a family to teach you to take the time to smell the roses. Aaron always felt a little guilty thinking of Kitsom. Luckily the memories were getting harder to dredge up these days, Aaron wasn't sure if that was because he was consciously trying to suppress them or because the magic blue pills and conditioning he had undergone to become Aaron Cross was slowly but surely destroying Kitsom forever.

No, Agent Cross never had time for the little things, so imagine his surprise when he discovered Doctor Marta Shearing had all the time in the world. Who would have thought that the uptight ever so proper Doc lived for the small moments in life? Not that he realised this at first. It was kind of hard to find the time to just stop and breathe when you had the most powerful institution on the planet hell bent on killing you. It was just enough that the two of them had kept ahead of the game long enough to viral Aaron off the blue chems. Even that had been touch and go, with that crazy terminator style agent almost catching them in Manilla. They'd gotten lucky that day and Aaron knew it. Lucky that Marta was the warrior he suspected she was, lucky they had reached the water and found a sympathetic fisherman with a love for gold watches to sneak them out of the country.

It was a few days on the fishing boat before Aaron realised that the Doc loved the small things. Her comment about 'hoping they were lost' was the clue. It forced him to stop for a moment, not to think or to plan ahead but just to _be_ in the moment with a beautiful, smart woman. That was the day he realised that the little things were what most people lived for. Their time together on the boat and the months that had followed out in the world had taught him a few things. Things not necessary for their continuing survival, but important just the same, things that Outcome had never bothered to teach him.

* * *

It was the music that drew Aaron onto the deck of the boat, the music and Marta's laugh. A radio was playing some Asian dance hit, if the language was anything to go by, but it had enough of a rhythm for Marta and the young fisherman's boy to dance to.

Aaron stood in the shadows of the doorway for a moment, just watching. Marta and the boy held each other's hands; bare feet thudded on the deck under the canopy as they swung around like little kids. Marta threw her head back and laughed again as a dip in the boat's movement almost made her fall over. She was moving better after a few days rest, her bruises and scrapes from the fall off the motorcycle healing in the fresh sea air.

The fast paced song came to an end and Marta gave a small whoop of delight as she bent over to catch her breath. Standing up she caught sight of Aaron. 'Hey, you.'

The boy noticed Aaron watching and blushed. He mumbled something to Marta then rushed off to the bow of the boat.

'Sorry to interrupt.' Aaron said as he moved onto the deck towards Marta.

'You scared him away,' she protested.

'I scared him away?' Aaron replied, standing in front of her. 'Did you ever think it was your dancing that scared him away?'

Marta standing with her feet firmly planted shoulder width apart and her hands on her hips, glared at Aaron. 'I'll have you know I am a great dancer!'

Aaron scratched his head. 'If you say so, Doc.'

Marta's eyes narrowed. 'Right, just for that you can consider yourself volunteered as my new dance partner.'

'What?'

Marta held her arms out. 'You heard me.'

Aaron tried to laugh the suggestion off. 'Listen, Doc, I've got stuff to do. Plans to make, big bad governments to piss off. You don't think these things happen by themselves do you?'

'Oh no you don't, mister,' Marta grabbed his arm as he began moving away. 'You've not getting away that easily.'

Aaron fought off the first instinct to flip Marta on her ass when she grabbed him. Dammit, this was going to be embarrassing. He looked sideways at her. 'I can't'

'Course you can, we're still lost remember. How can they find us?'

Aaron turned back to face Marta. 'No, I can't,' he explained. 'I don't know how to dance.'

Marta's mouth twitched a little. 'Really, have you ever tried?'

Aaron shook his head. 'Pretty sure I would have remembered learning to dance, Doc.'

Marta held out her hands again. 'It's easy, I'll teach you how.'

'What if I have two left feet?'

Marta snorted at the thought. 'Aaron I've seen you fight, how could you have two left feet?'

'That's different.'

'Is it?' Marta asked as she took his left hand in her right and guided his right hand onto her waist.

Was it that different? Two people moving about in an enclosed area of space, at least with dancing he didn't have to worry about killing the other person. Aaron's jaw clenched a little, damn she was standing close. When was the last time he'd been so close to a woman? He had vague memories of the night he had viraled off the blues sweating and mumbling in her arms and there were times at the lab with the good doctor but those were always monitored, never a real chance to connect. Aaron's fist tightened on the back of her t-shirt.

Marta reached back and slapped his hand gently. 'Don't get frisky on me, soldier.'

Aaron laughed a little as he loosened his grip. 'Yes, ma'am. So now what?'

'Now, we move.' Marta took a small step to her left, Aaron following. Then she repeated the move to her right.

Aaron stared down into Marta's hazel eyes, marvelling at the green flecks that seemed to dance within them. 'Aren't I supposed to lead?'

'We'll work our way up to that,' Marta flicked her head to one side to shift a curl of hair that had worked its way loose from her ponytail. 'So, they never taught you how to dance in Super Spy School?'

Aaron looked away as they continued to sway from side to side. 'Wasn't that kind of school.'

Marta tutted. 'I thought all you spy types could dance, James Bond does.'

Aaron was scanning the horizon, looking for trouble when he registered Marta's words and looked back at her. 'Wouldn't have picked you for a Bond fan.'

Marta squirmed a little under Aaron's gaze. 'Not really, you pick up things. I did watch one movie, Casino something, the actor playing him seemed okay.'

'The blonde Bond?' The radio playing the music had shifted to some talk show programme but the pair still continued to move around the deck. 'You got a thing for blondes? Cause you know,' Aaron grinned at Marta, 'I'm blonde.'

Marta raised an eyebrow as she took in Aaron's light brown hair.

'– ish, blonde-ish. It goes light in the summer,' Aaron shrugged. 'Give me some hair dye and I'll give Bond a run for his money.'

'Aaron,' Marta replied, laughing at the mental image, 'you do realise you're dancing.'

Aaron stopped moving and stared down at his feet. Sometime during their conversation he'd taken the lead, moving them effortlessly around the deck. 'Well would you look at that.'

Marta felt herself suddenly spun out full stretch before being reeled back in to land against Aaron's chest. Two strong arms encircled her as she looked into Aaron's happy gaze, the surrounding ocean bringing out the intense blue of his eyes.

'I guess it _is_ a bit like fighting,' he decided.


	2. Singing

That day on the boat was when Aaron discovered Marta's love of music. It was not something he'd ever thought about before. A radio's sole purpose was to convey information, not music as far as he was concerned. But not for Marta and if she couldn't find a radio she'd hum. Turned out the Doc was a bit of a Beatles fan, with a secret indulgence for some person called Pink.

And it turned out, humming was catching. Marta had picked up a small transistor radio in one of her flea market stall excursions and even though the reception was terrible at least most of the songs were in English. It was turned on now and Aaron found himself humming to some 80's song as he disassembled the latest handgun he had acquired on their travels.

'You're singing.'

Aaron looked over to the bed to see Marta lying on her side, head propped on one arm with a slightly bemused look on her face.

'You say something?' he asked, hands automatically placing each piece of the weapon within easy access on the table.

Marta sat up on the bed. 'I said, you were singing.'

Aaron frowned at the idea. 'No I wasn't.'

'Oh, yes you were.' Marta tucked her legs underneath her. 'First dancing, now singing. What other hidden talents do you have, do you play a musical instrument?'

Aaron's frown deepened as he tried to ignore Marta's words.

Marta raised her hands and addressed the room. 'Ladies and Gentlemen, the Amazing Aaron Cross and his Cabaret Act of Doom for one night only.'

Aaron swallowed a snort of laughter and tried his best glare on Marta. 'Petunia Babcock.'

Marta dropped her hands and stared at Aaron. 'I'm sorry?'

'Don't mess with the guy picking your next name.' Aaron scratched his chin and made a show of thinking things over. 'Maybe I'll go with Primrose Hornfischer instead.'

Marta snorted in disbelief before glaring back at him. 'Don't you dare.'

'Then don't call me a cabaret act, Doc, I don't sing.'

'What's wrong with singing?' Marta was reasonably certain Aaron was joking with her, but she had learned that his sense of humour was erratic at the best of times.

Aaron's eyes narrowed. 'You definitely look like a Petunia to me.'

'Fine,' Marta slid off the bed and reached into her backpack, picking out a clean blouse and pair of shorts. 'I'm taking a shower.'

'Have fun.'

She stalked into the other room, slamming the door behind her. Almost immediately Marta walked back out and grabbed the radio. 'For your information I think you have a nice singing voice,' she told him before returning to the bathroom.

Aaron sat at the table not moving until he heard the sound of the shower. Then slowly picking up a soft cloth to clean the handgun, he quietly began to sing.


	3. A Little Tent for Two

Turns out Marta had never been camping, not proper camping, according to her. With the tent and the mosquitoes and the s'mores.

'That's a type of mushroom, right?' Aaron asked.

They were wandering around some bazaar in Vietnam, acting the part of two carefree tourists looking for a bargain.

The look on Marta's face was priceless, he found himself laughing. Something he was doing more and more, even with the threat of faceless government assassins always on the horizon. 'Relax, Doc, even I know what a s'more is.'

'I wish you wouldn't call me that.' Marta smiled absently at the vendor who was trying to persuade them that they needed a souvenir of their trip.

'Call you what?'

Marta picked up some knick-knack off the table she was standing in front of, and then put it back down again without really looking at it.

Aaron smiled at the disappointed vendor as the pair walked away empty handed. 'What's wrong with calling you Doc?' he asked as he readjusted the ever present backpack more evenly over his shoulders.

Marta shrugged as the pair lost themselves in the crowd. 'I don't know, because it reminds me of then. Of Sterisyn, of my old job and what I did.' She looked sideways at Aaron. 'Of what we did to _you_.'

'I have to admit, I don't have many happy memories of that time,' he reached down and clasped Marta's hand in his. 'But you were the best thing about that place.'

Marta tilted her head forward but Aaron still managed to catch her smile before she threw her weight sideways and bumped into him. Aaron grunted and staggered dramatically as he smiled back at her. He enjoyed those moments when he could change her mood, drag her back from thinking about her life before Outcome came and destroyed it.

'Maybe we should?' he said.

Marta stopped walking to look at him, the crowd parting around them. 'Should do what?'

'We're pretending to be backpackers.' Aaron nodded at the idea. 'We should go camping. You, me, a little tent for two. Throw in some s'mores and beef jerky.'

'Beef jerky?' Marta shook her head. 'You're serious aren't you?'

'Time to really get off the grid, Marta.'

'I'm going to regret this aren't I?'

* * *

Which was how Marta Shearing found herself five days later, covered in scratches, welts and mosquito bites and sitting in the dirt glaring up at Aaron.

'Would you like me to show you again?' he asked.

Turned out Aaron thought going camping was some sort of code for self defence training. Which made sense, she guessed, they were out in the middle of nowhere, no one to observe what they were doing. It was as good a place as any for Aaron to teach her a couple of moves in case anyone tried to snatch her off the street. Although it was more realistic that they would just shoot her in the head and leave her body behind. Not that she pointed that out to Aaron, neither of them liked to think too hard about what the future might hold.

'Come on,' Aaron held out his hand towards her. 'Let's try one of the earlier moves.'

Marta reluctantly let herself be dragged to her feet. She futilely tried brushing the dust from her clothes as Aaron paced behind her, chances were excellent she would find herself flat on her back in a few minutes time.

Suddenly two strong arms encircled her waist, pinning her arms to her sides. For a second she froze then remembering what Aaron had taught her she reacted, throwing her head back sharply while raising her right foot and dragging it down Aaron's instep. A sharp hiss of pain and a shifting of weight was all the incentive she needed, Marta moved to one side, dropping her shoulder and tried to throw Aaron to the ground. In normal circumstances that would have been enough to throw an attacker off, at least in theory, if what Aaron had told her earlier was true. Of course most people weren't being attacked by an Outcome agent.

Instead of letting her go Aaron just clung on tighter and pulled her down with him. She ended up flat on her back, again, with Aaron crouching next her.

'You almost had me, there.' He pulled Marta to her feet again, rubbing at his nose. 'The head butt was a nice touch, Doc.'

Marta stood breathing heavily with her hands on her hips. 'Are we going to do this all day?'

Aaron thought about it for a minute. 'Probably, now what would you do if I attacked you from the front?'

This was getting ridiculous. Marta made a letter T sign with her hands and began walking away.

'What are you doing?' Aaron called after her as she sat down and pulled out a water bottle from one of their backpacks. 'You can't just call a timeout in the middle of a fight, Marta.'

'Watch me.' Marta tipped the bottle up and took a long drink.

'I'm not doing this for fun, you know.' Aaron stormed over to stand in front of her. 'This is important, Marta, I need you to know this. Do you think these agents they're sending after us will just give up? It won't be as easy as Manilla; we won't get that lucky again.'

'You thought that was easy?'

Aaron cut off what she was saying. 'I need to know that if something happens to me you can protect yourself. Dammit, Marta, I need to know you can survive.'

Marta angrily scrambled to her feet, dropping the bottle in her haste. '_Don't you_ lecture me on surviving.' She jabbed Aaron sharply in his side. 'You're the reason I'm here in the first place. I never asked for this, my life was perfectly fine until you came along.'

Aaron twisted to one side trying to avoid her jab. 'Sure if you call almost being shot in the head, fine. Maybe I should have left them to it and saved myself a lot of trouble.'

'You bastard!' Marta jabbed Aaron again. 'You'd be a brain dead vegetable if it wasn't for me.'

Aaron grabbed at Marta, pushing her backwards. Stumbling back a few steps Marta narrowed her eyes and glared back at Aaron. Perhaps it was the anger of the moment, or perhaps it was his reaction to her jabbing at him but Marta suddenly wanted to pay Aaron back for the last few months of her life and the only thing she could think of was the fights with her sister when they were both children.

Marta yelled something unintelligible and rushed at Aaron. As their two bodies crashed together she began tickling him.

'Hey!' Aaron tried backing away but Marta continued to follow him, her fingers quickly darting in and out, too fast for Aaron to avoid. 'Marta,' Aaron tried to reason with her around his laughter, 'stop it.'

'How do you like it, huh?' She said, continuing her assault. 'How do you like being the one out of control?'

Well two could play at this game. Aaron began tickling her back, his strong callused fingers running up and down her sides. Marta squealed and began backing away but now it was Aaron's turn to follow her, not letting her escape from his embrace.

In her attempt to get away Marta tripped over the backpack and found herself flat on her back with Aaron lying on top of her. She could feel his whole body shaking as his laughter slowly subsided. Marta let out a deep breath, this wasn't the first time they had lain near each other; sharing cramped quarters, whether it was a cabin on a boat, a run down motel room or a two-man tent, had quickly become the norm for her. But this time . . . Marta placed her hands on Aaron's sides and felt him tense under her touch.

Aaron shifted his weight, placing both hands either side of her shoulders and pushing himself off of her until he was kneeling over Marta. They stayed frozen in that position just staring at each other for what felt like hours. Marta searched Aaron's face looking for some hint of what he was thinking. She watched as that little frown of concentration, what she thought of as his thinking face, deepened. A muscle jumped in his jaw as he swallowed heavily. Suddenly he gave her a slow, almost sexy, smile that made her breath catch and he began leaning in towards her. It was like being caught in the glare of a predator. Is this what the gazelle felt like right before the lion ate it?

At the last second Aaron's mouth veered away from hers and whispered in her ear. 'You play dirty, Doc, I like it.'

Aaron pushed himself to one side to lie on the ground next to Marta. They both lay there silently for a few minutes just staring up at the darkening sky. Marta realised she had been holding her breath and let it go slowly.

To her left Aaron began to chuckle quietly. 'Did we just have our first fight?'

Marta turned her head to look at Aaron. 'No, I think we had that in the car after you burned down my house, remember?'

Aaron turned his head in her direction, his eyes lost focus briefly as he recalled the moment. 'The blue chems.'

'Manilla.' Marta agreed with him.

They smiled at each other and both looked back towards the sky.

'Interesting technique you got there, Doc, where'd you learn that one?'

Marta covered her eyes with her hand and groaned in embarrassment. 'My sister, Anthea, and I we used to fight like that when we were little.'

'She got pointy little fingers like you, too?'

Marta reached out with her left hand to show Aaron just how pointy her fingers could be when he caught her hand in his, lacing their fingers together.

'Gitmo should forget about water boarding and just go with the tickling; now _there_ is a form of torture.' Aaron pulled their hands closer so that he could rest them on his chest. 'Marta, I'm sorry I pushed you, but you understand why I'm doing this right?'

Marta nodded. 'To help me survive,' she said softly.

'If something were to happen to me. If I was dead or incapacitated, I need to know you can go on.'

'But I wouldn't go on,' Marta continued staring at the sky, avoiding looking at Aaron. 'If you were gone, then I would already be gone too. Because I know you, Aaron, you won't give up. You wouldn't die before me.'

'But I would die _for_ you.'

'That's what I'm afraid of.' Marta blinked rapidly at the threatening tears.

Aaron lifted Marta's hand and gently kissed her knuckles. 'Not exactly what you expected your first camping trip to be like, huh?'

Marta laughed a little and sniffed, thankful for the change of subject. 'Not exactly.'

'Hey' Aaron left go of Marta's hand and rolled onto his side to face her. 'Have you ever made a campfire from scratch?'

Marta turned to face him. 'Like rubbing two sticks together?'

Aaron laughed. 'Yeah, like that.'

Marta shook her head.

'Want me to teach you?'

'Sure,' Marta sat up and smiled. 'And maybe afterwards we could cook some s'mores.'

Aaron scrambled to his feet and held out one hand. 'Then we could tell ghost stories until you were too scared to sleep. Isn't that how it goes?'

Marta accepted Aaron's hand and let herself be pulled to her feet. 'What makes you think I'll be the one to get scared?'

Aaron laughed. 'How else am I supposed to get the girl to cuddle up with me?'

'I know some stories that will curl your hair. Maybe you'll have to cuddle up to me.'

'I like a challenge, but first we have to start that fire and for that we need wood.' Aaron nodded towards the darkening jungle.

A loud noise up in the trees caught both their attention. Aaron's gaze snapped up as he placed himself between Marta and any potential threat.

Marta couldn't see anything but she could feel the tension in Aaron, his entire body focused on whatever had made that sound. Gone was the playful man she had come to know, now he was all soldier. It reminded her of the time he had rescued her, when her whole life had changed. The intensity was frightening, even more so now that she had seen the other side of him.

Silence continued and then the rustling in the trees came again further away and a bird called out sharply. Slowly life returned as the sounds came back to the jungle. As the tension gradually faded from Aaron's body Marta sighed in relief.

'Maybe I should come with you,' he said.

'Keep me safe from the bogey man?' she asked, half seriously.

In the darkening light Aaron's eyes were laughing and grey. 'Always.'


	4. Family Matters

Aaron hurried back towards the cheap hotel where he and Marta were staying. He told her it was to recon the area and make sure they hadn't been followed from the airport where Marta had bumped into an overly friendly American in the terminal, which it was in a way but it was more of an excuse to get out of the room and try to cool down. He was fairly certain that the American was just passing the time chatting up a beautiful woman, and he couldn't blame the guy for trying. If nothing else it was worth the look the guy had given Aaron when he had swept up and stolen Marta away from him. It had probably been nothing, just their overly cautious paranoia kicking in, but Aaron knew too well that nothing could become something in a heartbeat so he had taken the time to check the perimeter anyway.

Running up the stairs Aaron paused to flick his shirt away from his clammy skin before knocking twice on the door, then opening it with his key. Inside Marta was sitting in the thinnest t-shirt and shorts she owned, waving a bamboo fan in front of her face as she perched on the edge of a chair so close to the open window she was practically sitting on the ledge.

'What have I told you about windows?' Aaron said, entering the room.

'I know, I know.' Marta pulled the window closed and moved away to sit on the double bed. 'Are we okay?'

Aaron nodded as he walked over to the closed window, to peer down to the street below before pulling the blind down. 'Looks good.'

Marta sighed and waved the fan vigorously in front of her face. 'Can you believe this heat, in December?'

'Welcome to the Southern Hemisphere, Doc.' Aaron walked over to an electric fan and turned it on. It turned feebly for a few seconds before creaking to a halt. 'Yeah, knew we couldn't be that lucky.' He turned and shrugged at Marta. 'Sorry for the accommodations.'

Marta gestured to the bed. 'Come share my fan.'

'Probably the best offer I'll get all day.' Aaron walked over and sat beside Marta. He closed his eyes as she adjusted the fan for them both. 'Peel me a grape, woman.'

Marta slapped Aaron not so gently on the head with her fan. 'Just for that.' She turned it back towards her.

'Oh no you don't.' Aaron reached out and caught her wrist, turning the fan so he could feel the feeble breeze.

Marta sighed and bounced a couple of times on the bed. 'Why do we keep getting double beds?'

'Maybe it's the universe trying to tell you something, Doc.' Aaron joked.

'Yeah, telling me you're a cheapskate who won't pay for two rooms.' Marta grumped back at him.

'Just trying to keep our savings.'

'How are our savings?' Marta looked over at the black jacket where Aaron hid their money.

'Won't have to go out and get a job just yet. Although,' Aaron scratched at his chin, 'plenty of backpackers get seasonal work picking fruit.'

Marta sat up straight. 'What are you saying, that I should go out and get a job?'

'Well you are the one who keeps insisting you want your own room.' Aaron looked insulted. 'Why do I snore or something?'

Marta hit Aaron on the shoulder as hard as she could. 'Ow,' she shook her hand.

Aaron didn't even budge, he just started laughing.

Marta smiled back at him for a minute, but the smile slowly faded away. Frowning she looked down at the fan in her lap, pulling at a loose piece of bamboo.

'Doc?' Aaron reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder. 'What's wrong?'

'Oh, nothing.' Marta tried to wave away Aaron's concerns.

'The hell it is.' Aaron's hand moved from her shoulder to the back of her neck. His began rubbing his thumb behind her ear. 'Tell me, what is it? Because if it's the snoring, I'll stop.' He said, trying to make light of the conversation.

'It's not, you don't,' Marta took a deep shuddering breath, blinking back sudden tears and tried again. 'It's Christmas.'

'Oh.' Aaron suddenly understood. He reached around and pulled Marta close into a hug, tucking her head under his chin. 'Family.'

Marta tucked her feet under her and leaned into Aaron. 'They think I'm dead and I understand why,' Marta looked up at Aaron, 'it's to keep them safe, I know. But this will be the first Christmas, I won't be there.'

'I'm sorry, Marta.' Aaron brushed some stray curls from her face.

'I'd go to Anthea's every Christmas; it was the tradition after my father died. Mom, Anthea, her husband Paul and little Drew.' Marta smiled at the memories and looked at Aaron. 'Did I tell you I had a nephew?' she waited until Aaron shook his head before resting her head against his chest. 'Andrew's almost eight years old now.'

'Aunt Marta, it's got a nice ring to it.'

'Auntie May-May, he used to call me.' Marta gave a small laugh. 'We did the full family Christmas. Drew would wake up at the crack of dawn and rampage through the house until he'd woken us all up. We all had to open our presents at the same time in front of the tree and he could never wait.'

'Sounds like a handful.' Aaron said.

Marta hummed her agreement. 'Then we had the big Christmas dinner and ate too much so no one wanted to clean the dishes afterwards. We usually ended up all piling into the car and driving somewhere to hear some carols.'

Aaron smiled at Marta's words. 'Sounds like something out of the movies, Doc, sounds perfect.'

'Oh it was never perfect, but it was close enough.' Marta frowned and sat back to look at him. 'Aaron, what do you do for Christmas?'

'Well Outcome was never a paid up believer of family holidays.' Aaron avoided looking at Marta. 'And the military, well it was big on meals but not on Christmas trees or carolling.'

'But what about your family?'

Aaron frowned; he had been hoping this particular subject would never come up. Finally he looked at Marta. 'Never had a family, Doc.'

'Aaron everyone has a family.'

Aaron grimaced a little. 'Spent most my life in state homes, nobody wants to adopt a dumb kid.'

Marta reached out and placed her hand on Aaron's cheek. 'Your parents?'

'Never knew who my father was and my mom,' Aaron shrugged. 'Let's just say social services thought I was better off without her.' He caught sight of the tears in Marta's eyes. 'Doc, don't start, it's not that big a deal.'

Marta blinked. 'The hell it is,' she reminded him of his earlier words to her. Marta stared at him for a moment before nodding to herself. '_I'm_ your family.'

'What?'

Marta took Aaron's hands in hers. 'Everyone needs to belong somewhere. From now on, I'm your family.'

Aaron swallowed a couple of times. 'Marta, you don't –'

Marta squeezed his hands hard. 'Who is your family, Aaron?'

Marta watched as she was rewarded with one of Aaron's genuine smiles, the one that seemed to light up his entire face. 'You are,' he said quietly.

She smiled back at him. 'Never forget it.'

'Well, then,' Aaron cleared his throat. 'Guess this is as good a time as any.'

He stood up from the bed and walked over to his backpack. Opening it he rummaged around before pulling out something small. Hiding it in his hand Aaron walked back to Marta with an almost shy look on his face.

'What?' Marta looked at Aaron as he sat back down beside her. 'Is something wrong?'

Smiling Aaron took Marta's right hand in his. 'So you know what day it is, right.'

Marta nodded; even in a predominately non-Christian country it was hard to miss the signs.

'Well,' Aaron placed a small box in Marta's hand. 'Merry Christmas, Doc.'

'Aaron,' Marta turned the box over and over in her hands. 'You didn't have to . . .' looking up she caught his worried frown as he nodded towards the box.

'I think the way this present thing works is you have to open it.' He said.

Lifting the lid off the tiny box revealed a pair of delicate sterling silver butterfly studs. 'Oh,' Marta breathed as she brushed her fingertips over the earrings.

Aaron's worried look lightened when he saw Marta's delighted expression. 'You like?'

Marta nodded. 'Very much,' she looked over at Aaron. 'I'm going to try them on.' She stood up and hurried into the bathroom. 'I love butterflies,' she called back at him. 'How did you know?'

Aaron leaned sideways to try and catch a glimpse of Marta in the bathroom but was unsuccessful. 'I didn't,' he explained. 'It was them or stars.'

'Nonsense,' Marta continued talking to him from the other room. 'You never leave anything to chance.'

'Well that little butterfly tattoo of yours might have been a bit of a hint, Doc.'

Marta emerged from the bathroom. 'That was a youthful indiscretion.'

Aaron just smiled. 'Uh-huh.'

'Did you know butterflies represent change and new beginnings?'

'Sounds just like us.'

Marta pushed her hair back behind her ears. 'What do you think?'

Aaron sat on the bed and took a moment to just look at Marta. 'Beautiful,' he finally said, 'and the earrings are nice, too.'

Marta felt her face go red and she ducked her head down to hide her expression.

'Did I make you blush, Marta?' There was laughter in Aaron's voice.

'Nonsense.' Marta fussed about the room, picking up pieces of clothing and folding them. Anything to avoid Aaron's gaze.

'Hey, hey,' Aaron caught Marta's hand as she tried to breeze past him. 'Are we good?'

Marta just nodded as he drew her towards him. His hands moved to rest against the back of her thighs as she bumped against his legs. 'Oh Aaron,' she looked suddenly mortified. 'I don't have a present for you.'

Aaron moved his hands up to settle around her waist, the fingers of his right hand covering the butterfly tattoo. 'What are you talking about, Marta, you've already given me the most important thing in the world.'

Marta frowned, what could she have possibly given him?

Aaron's eyes crinkled in amusement. 'You made sure this scarecrow kept his brain.'

Of course, keeping his intelligence when he viraled off the blue medication. 'Oh so does that make me the Wizard of Oz?'

Aaron shook his head. 'No, you're definitely Dorothy.'

'Whisked away on an amazing adventure.' Marta said softly.

'I hope you think so.' Aaron tilted his head to one side. 'Get dressed.'

'What?' Marta was thrown by the sudden change in topic.

Aaron stood up and brushed past her as he walked towards their backpacks. 'A family needs its traditions. You want Christmas dinner, we'll have Christmas dinner.'

'But how . . . where?'

Aaron threw a pair of light trousers over his shoulder in her general direction. 'There is a Catholic Mission on the outskirts of town. I'm sure they could find room for two more wayward souls.'

'Are you serious?' Marta wiggled into the trousers and looked around for a clean t-shirt.

Aaron pulled his sweat soaked shirt off and replaced it with a dry one. 'Sure why not?'

Marta thought about it, why not?

Aaron looked back at her and winked as he tucked the shirt into his jeans. 'And if we've been really good this year they might even have air conditioning.'


End file.
